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I'm new to sharpening and purchased an Edge Pro after becoming frustrated with how dull my knives were after using the pull-through contraption that came with my Wusthof Classic kitchen knives.

I sharpened with the stock set of stones -- 200, 400, 600, 1000 -- and got some promising but not totally satisfactory results. After this progression, my knives easily slice newsprint and magazine pages (though not as well as many of the videos I see on Youtube), and they'll slice-cut (but not push-cut) through a ripe tomato just with the weight of the knife. They shave hair, but not well (which I understand is not necessarily a relevant measure for a kitchen knife), and (more relevantly) my wife complains that they "stick" when she cuts an apple. I suspect this means I need to thin them. I thought I had done this--I sharpened them first at around 15 degrees per side, then changed the angle and finished them around 20 degrees per side.

My initial thought was that I could improve them by going to higher grits. So I recently ordered a Shapton 4000 and a Shapton 8000 for the Edge Pro. But upon doing some further reading, I now realize those may not have been good choices for Wusthof knives, since apparently the softer German knives cannot hold a super-refined edge well.

The Shaptons are returnable if unopened, so this leads me to my question: are they worth keeping if I'm not also going to upgrade to a fancier Japanese knife? And is 1000 grit on the Edge Pro as refined as I can go on these particular knives?

Dan_Crubenew

Post subject: Re: Sharpening Wusthof Classics

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:14 pm

Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2013 12:44 amPosts: 1313

You can put a highly refined edge on soft steel, it just won't hold it very long. Most times I only sharpen my Henckels knives up to about 4k. They hold onto it for a good while, but they aren't as excellent as my higher HRC knives in edge retention.

_________________Only after Winter comes do we know that the pine and the cypress are the last to fade.

Jeff B

Post subject: Re: Sharpening Wusthof Classics

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:47 pm

Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2012 4:17 amPosts: 5139

I would send them back and get a Shapton 2k, nice edge for German steel. If you happen to get harder knives later you can get high grit stones then.

_________________If at first you don't succeed, pay someone that knows what they're doing.

Tall Dark and Swarfy

Post subject: Re: Sharpening Wusthof Classics

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:07 pm

Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:22 amPosts: 952

MDD I've been in your shoes. The EP 1000 delivers a beautiful looking edge but the performance doesn't match the aesthetic.

Keeping in mind that the EP 1000 is around 3K grit on the Shapton scale you could bump down to the Shapton 2K and get a good toothier edge or see what the Shapton 4K or 5K buys you. The Shapton Pro 2K is a dream to use IMO.

Save the money from the 8K and maybe invest in a good polished steel for edge maintenance. Or maybe a strop. There are plenty here who will advise either way.

Cheers,

Rick

daf

Post subject: Re: Sharpening Wusthof Classics

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:35 pm

Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2013 7:33 amPosts: 145Location: Arizona

I' far from a professional but sharpen the ones I have up to 5K. You will definitely see an improvement if you go higher than the 1K stone. I agree that the 8K stone might be too far for these knives.

Along these lines, perhaps it's sharp enough but the geometry is wrong?I decreased the angle on my Wustof slicers and santoku and this improved the performance considerably.

Also, Have you used a marker+eye loop to ensure you are completely meeting your edges along the whole knife? Your previous sharpening efforts plus the factory grind may have resulted in areas that are significantly different than the rest of the knife.

snipes

Post subject: Re: Sharpening Wusthof Classics

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 3:56 pm

Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2012 11:01 pmPosts: 564Location: ATL

I set the EP to 18º for my Wustof chef and santoku and it works very well. I've also gone lower w/o issue. I'd suggest returning the 8k for a 2k and swapping out the EP 1k with it in your setup.

I think you'd get a better overall experience with returning both the 4k and 8k and exchanging for a 2k and a strop setup. You will be amazed at what the strop can do to bring the edge back after it starts to feel a bit tired AND you get to avoid having to go through your sharpening progression again for a while.

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